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Friday, March 15, 2013

Book Feature: The Bonds of Matri-money

Love reality shows? How about a book that ties Survivor with The Newlywed Game and adds the challenge of handcuffed contestants? That's the idea behind my very first Avalon Books release, The Bonds of Matri-money, now re-released by Montlake Romance.

Check out the blurb: Renata Moon and Connell MacAllister lost more than a frivolous lawsuit in a Manhattan courtroom. Paying the settlement will probably force them to close their non-profit business. That is, until they learn about a new survivalist game show set in exotic Bali. Grand prize: one million dollars. The catch? The show is for newlyweds.Nothing that a quickie marriage--in name only--can't fix. But Renata and Connell didn't anticipate they'd be linked by handcuffs the entire time they're competing! Soon, spending days and nights with only a few inches of chain between them begins to stir feelings they never knew existed. Before the competition ends, Renata and Connell will be forced to decide which means more to them: love or money.

Here's a sample: A young dark-haired assistant handed Renata two small
pieces of yellow cloth. “You’ll need these for this morning’s challenge, ma’am.
You’re to change your clothing, and be at the lagoon in fifteen minutes.
Understand?”

“Yes, of
course,” she murmured.

With a nod, the
assistant turned away from the tent.

“What is it?”
Connell asked her.

She stared at
the two scraps in her hand, then at the retreating back of the assistant, then
back at her hand again. “I think it’s a bikini. They want me to wear a bikini
now?”

“It’s for a
million dollars,” he reminded her quickly.

She shook her
head in dismay. “Am I that transparent?”

“You are to me.
But then again, I’d do anything short of murder to see you in that getup. Something
tells me you’re gonna look fantastic.”

He gave her a wolfish smile,
indicative of their teammate Roger’s antics, and she laughed despite her
discomfort. His attitude always lightened her mood when problems cropped up in
this game. She wondered if he handled concerns in the real world with the same
aplomb and skewed bit of humor he used here. His was a refreshing change from
her old worry wart behavior. But she refused to pursue that avenue at the
moment.

“So? You gonna put it on, or are
we giving up already?”

She twirled a finger at him.
“Turn around. Just because you gained my quick cooperation in wearing this
dental floss doesn’t mean you get a sneak preview.”

“Hot dog! She’s gonna put it on.”

He clapped his hands as he spun
around. The minute his back faced her, she stripped off her shorts and panties.
As she knelt to pull them off her ankles, he instinctively followed her
movements without turning around. She then slid into the tiny string bikini
bottoms and tugged them up, Connell’s movements mirroring her own.

She never feared he might peek at
her while she was vulnerable and exposed. He was too much of a gentleman for
that, and she knew it. Strange how constant proximity had given them a newfound
respect for one another. Thinking of how far they’d come in such a short time
filled her with pride, and she smiled before turning her attention to the
bikini top.

She managed to untie the halter,
but tying the bra with only one hand proved too much for her to handle. “Um,
Connell?”
“I know,” he said, still facing the
canvas walls around them. “You turn around, and I’ll tie you up.”

She giggled. “Sorry. It just
sounds so ridiculous.”

“Never mind,” he growled. “Turn
around.”

She did so. When his hands
grasped at the strings of the bra, she released her hold and lifted her hand to
scoop her hair off her neck. The strings tightened around her nape first, then
the middle of her back. His fingertips brushed against her flesh like feathers,
light and ticklish, and she shuddered.

“Don’t tell me you’re cold.”

“God, no! In this heat? Why on
earth would you think that?”

His warm breath danced across her
bare shoulder, converging with her own flush of embarrassment. Instant and
overpowering fire flooded her from head to toe. The humid weather must have
caused her reaction. If she stayed here a year, she’d never become accustomed to
the tropical heat. It crushed her inch by inch, leaving her gasping for every
breath she took.

“All done,” he announced. “Are
you okay? I thought I felt you shiver.”

Dropping her hair
down, she took a step away from him, as far as the handcuffs would allow. “Well, you didn’t.” She couldn’t look at him
when she told the lie.